Wantto win $500?

Subscribe to YourTango newsletter

Romance Your Mate For A Passion-filled Marriage

Renew the marital bond between you and your spouse through romantic gestures of love and passion.

Keeping romantic love alive in your marriage is a key factor in having a long, happy marriage. Most love stories begins like a fairy tale. Most marriages begin with incredible love and passion between the two partners and they often renew that love following a wedding, honeymoon, or even a special anniversary. Couples often find that love and romance becomes more of a challenge to keep alive when their lives evolve with jobs, children, and other life commitments.

Sometimes love and romance can get lost in the shuffle of life. Your love and passion can be rekindled and kept alive by tapping into the hopeless romantic who lives inside you. When it comes to rekindling the passion and love in your marriage, the best place to begin is at the beginning. You will want to recall the things that you did for your spouse at the beginning of your relationship. But, if you were never very romantic, don’t worry; it’s not too late. It’s not hard to find the romantic inside you and once you find it the ideas will come and the love will flow.

In most new relationships, it’s the little things that truly expresses romantic love. You will want to remember romantic days like Valentine’s Day, anniversaries and even the date you met or your first date together by sending a small, meaningful gift or flowers to celebrate your feelings for your spouse. And hey, this isn’t just advice for men; women should do the same things for their husband. Men love flowers, candy and other expressions of love too.

From my personal experience, I can tell you that writing your partner a long love letter describing how you feel for them is one of the most touching ways to express your romantic love. If writing isn’t your strength, make a list of the things you love most about your mate and share that with them. Letters and lists can name things they do to make you laugh, why you appreciate them, how they make you feel when you are with them, and how beautiful or handsome they are. The possibilities are endless.

Here is a simple thing you can do at just about anytime: Call your spouse during the day just to chat. If they don't answer the phone, leave a loving messages on their voice mail. You can even try talking dirty when you know that it is safe; it may be best to do this on their personal mobile phone. When you want to really rekindle the love and passion in your marriage, gifts are often a surefire way to show someone that you love them. While classics like flowers, candy and perfume almost always do the trick, other types of gifts can be just as effective.

Take your spouse out for a romantic dinner and movie. Bring home a bottle of champagne to toast your love and mate. Leave romantic and/or funny cards under the bed pillows or around the house for them to find. These ideas are simple ways to get you started on the road to romantic love in your marriage. You may have your own ideas eventually, and those will be truly personal.

Best: Sleepless in Seattle

Worst: Fifty Shades of Grey

The movie might help to get you guys in the mood, but you really don't want to be taking sex advice from a dude who makes women sign a contract. Also, your woman will be pretending you're Jamie Dornan later …Awkward.

Best: You've Got Mail

Worst: Titanic

That car sex may be hot, but watching a tragic love story may not be the best idea for date night on Valentine's Day. Plus it will only anger you that Rose couldn't move her dumb ass over on the GIANT WOODEN DOOR.

Best: Pretty Woman

Worst: The Way We Were

Spoiler alert. He chooses the boring wife instead of the ever-complicated relationship he has with Katie. You're probably complicated, but Valentine's Day is not the day to remind men that there are boring women out there.